1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of control switches intended for the control of home automation apparatuses and in particular for the control of the functions offered by these switches. Such switches enable a user to select a command to be sent to one or more electrical apparatuses. They include an interface, known as a man-machine interface, through which the commands required by a user are translated into a control instruction intended for the apparatuses. These control instructions are, in particular, sent by wired means, for example by bus, cable, powerline communication etc., or by non-wired means, for example by radio, infrared etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Regardless of the method of transmission, it is common for such switches to offer a large number of functions despite a limited number of keys. The Telis 4 remote control, sold by the applicant and intended to control motorised roller shutters or sun awnings, thus offers, in addition to the functions associated with the control buttons for raising, lowering (or opening-closing) and stopping, a common button for selection of a control channel, combined with the use of 4 light-emitting diodes. The instructions sent from a Telis 4 remote control are sent by radio to an apparatus or a group of apparatuses selected by activating a radio channel. Thus, a first apparatus may be controlled separately via channel 1, a second apparatus via channel 2, a third apparatus via channel 3 and a fourth apparatus via channel 4. A fifth channel is available after channel 4, channel 5 enabling the four apparatuses to be controlled as a group.
The configuration of the association between a channel and one or more apparatuses is usually carried out by an installer. During use, however, the user selects the chosen channel by one or more depressions of the common selection button, then gives the instruction via one of the control buttons. Channel 1 is the channel selected by default. The other channels are selected cyclically by further depressions of the selection button. Four light-emitting diodes (LEDs) enable the user to see which of channels 1 to 4 is the active channel. Each of these channels is indicated by the illumination of the corresponding diode. The fifth channel is indicated by the simultaneous illumination of the four diodes LED1, LED2, LED3, LED4 relating to the first four channels. Although this user-friendliness may be satisfactory, it requires multiple depressions and may sometimes require the user to repeat the depression cycle almost completely simply to change channel. Furthermore, it also becomes irksome when the number of channels increases.
Patent application DE-A-101 10 759 discloses the use of capacitive sensors to produce a multiple switch which can be used to control several items of electrical equipment. Each item of equipment is controlled by activation of the capacitive sensor dedicated to it.
Patent application FR 2 811 162 describes a device which enables the transmission of a control signal characteristic of a zone which has been touched lightly or a succession of signals specifying the meaning of the light touching in order to distinguish an instruction concerning upward movement from an instruction concerning downward movement.                In addition, patent application US-A-2006/0256089 describes a user device based on capacitive technology. This technology is currently used in control panels for domestic electrical appliances, for the screens of portable music players, and on screens for a medical apparatus. It allows the position or the movements in translation of a finger to be located on the screen surface. These actions are then translated by a microcontroller into output signals to the items of electrical apparatus.        
In particular, this document aims to reduce the number of sensors, but without reducing the number of possible output signals. The control panel therefore provides a set of sensors distributed over the panel and detection means which operate as follows: where a single sensor in a pair of adjacent sensors is activated, a first output signal is produced whereas if both sensors in a pair of sensors are activated, a second output signal is produced, this second signal corresponding to a second output state. This document specifies that the activation of the sensors may include a sliding action over the surface of the panel. However, the activation of adjacent sensors may be the result of an involuntary movement by the user, this occurrence being more frequent when the number of sensors increases relative to the surface area of the panel. Thus, it seems that involuntary selections may be made.